


Dance with me

by Silver_Winter_Wonderland



Category: Lupin III
Genre: Dancing, Fluff, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining, Slow Dancing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-04
Updated: 2020-07-04
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:49:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25074148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silver_Winter_Wonderland/pseuds/Silver_Winter_Wonderland
Summary: ‘Dance with me’ Lupin smiled, and Jigen felt a rush of rather uncomfortable cold followed by scorching hotness in his chest.‘What?’‘You heard me, dance with me!’‘Piss off man, I am not fucking fifteen anymore’
Relationships: Jigen Daisuke/Arsène Lupin III
Comments: 4
Kudos: 70





	Dance with me

‘Kay, we got the luggage and the gramophone, now what?’ Jigen asked, wiping sweat from his brows and reaching deep inside his pockets to fish out a crinkled cigarette and shove it between his lips.  
Lupin didn’t appear to be paying attention to him, he was fiddling with the lock and humming to himself.  
Jigen sat back and let him be, he knew the thief wouldn’t answer until the box was opened.

Their heist has been a success, they have stolen a beaten-up, but awfully well secured luggage which presumably contained over forty years’ worth of voice recordings leading to an even more grand treasure. 

‘It’s going to be a cryptic voice message, maybe hidden under radio recordings on the vinyl so we have to pay close attention’ Lupin finally responded, and took out a hair clip from behind his ears, starting to pick at another lock.  
It was rumored to have belonged to a family who kept adding vinyls to their collection, which had small clues leading up to the final reveal, but Jigen knew this would be a pain in the ass to listen to, he’d have to sit through weather forecasts from the forties just to get two numbers, which would then have to be connected to another one, and god knew how many records lay in their dusty casket…  
He lit his cigarette and watched as Lupin worked. He didn’t try to interfere; he wouldn’t have let him. 

‘Ya think all of this is worth sacrificing for a treasure that may not exist?’ to this, Lupin looked up from his work, shoving the hair clip in his pocket and popping up the locks.   
‘It’s worth a try. Besides, if we end up finding the treasure, we could buy the Palace of Versailles twice, it’s promising’  
‘And who exactly promised you anything…’ Jigen grunted, blowing round circles of smoke towards the ceiling.  
‘Look, if you weren’t in, you wouldn’t have helped me snatch it, am I right?’ He winked at him and Jigen shook his head.  
‘If I weren’t there, you’d be dead, Lupin’  
A snarky grin spread across the younger man’s face as he sat back and crossed his legs.  
‘You hold yourself to high standards, not gonna lie’  
‘Don’t push yourself, it’s just you not being able to carry out a single heist without alerting Pops one way or another’ Jigen pushed the rim of his hat further in his eyes, but the ever-telling smile, and the somewhat gentler tone in his voice was a tell-tale sign that he was only pulling his nerves ‘So? Will I ever get to know what the fuck is in the luggage?’  
‘So impatient’ Lupin chuckled and handed him a record. Then another one. And another one.   
‘These are just music CDs…’ he groaned.  
‘They might appear as such. We’re gonna have to find out, that’s what I stole this for’ he slapped the top of the gramophone which responded by an old creak.  
‘Careful, you idiot, we don’t have another one’  
Lupin shrugged.  
‘I can always snatch another’  
‘What’s your plan then? Will we have to sit through all of ‘em?’  
Lupin furrowed his brows and scratched the back of his neck.   
‘I guess so, I can’t filter out which ones have info and which don’t based off the cover, that would be idiotic of the owners…’  
‘Who was the owner anyway’ Jigen flipped a Frank Sinatra vinyl between his fingers.

‘Apparently it was this rich army veteran. He served in world war one, and inherited a big fortune from his grandfather, who lead a battalion in the civil war all the way back in the 1860s’  
‘Aight so now it’s a history lesson’ Jigen scoffed, crouched forward and dug through the CD pile.  
‘He was known for scamming people efficiently, and the family has kept the secret in letters until voice recording was invented, and they have found it to be more efficient and they would less likely to be caught. The treasure was hidden at around the thirties when they felt like they were in danger, and took records over already existing vinyls, for example a simple news broadcast or a song. Keeping their stuff safe, but not safe enough so that a genius like me can’t decode them’ he pointed at himself with a self-satisfied grin, and Jigen mushed his cigarette in the ash tray next to himself.   
‘So the answer to my question is we’re gonna listen’  
‘Yes, better change into some dancing shoes because we may have a good time too then’  
‘Fuck off man, no way, just put the music on’  
Lupin smiled at him, and fixed his tie. He let Jigen choose the first vinyl, to which he handed him the Sinatra one he has been fiddling around with.   
‘Didn’t you say classical music is the only stuff?’  
‘Doesn’t mean I like the guy, you asked me to hand you one, does it fucking matter where we start, anyway? Do you have stuff to take notes on?’  
‘Yeah, here’ he knocked his skull, ‘don’t wanna leave anything for good ol’ Pops here. 

As Lupin messed around with the gramophone, Jigen examined him carefully. How many times have they done the exact same thing? Went on a heist, came back, bickered, set up the plan… Again and again, and he hasn’t yet thought of how repetitive it may appear to other people. But not to him. As long as he was with him, with the team, nothing could seem boring again.   
Not even those summer afternoons where they are just laying around in the house, too lazy and too tired to do anything from the heat. Maybe in France, maybe in their Italian mansion, with the fan on and the window blinds closed, both men stubbornly in their suits, Jigen sipping on cheap scotch, watered down by a handful of ice cubes, and Lupin begging Fujiko to trace ice over his body so he’d feel more comfortable, and her scoffing and leaving to the idea.   
Not even that.

Nothing could be made boring with Lupin the Third and Jigen’s stomach twisted to the thought of ever having to leave the group. They were his family. Goemon, Lupin, and as much as he hated her, Fujiko gave him a new life he had only dreamt of as a dirty teenager. Hell, even Pops, angry, nosy Pops was considered family. Lupin was his new beginning.  
His heart skipped a beat. He felt full. No matter the occasional arguments, the bickering, the insults, he loved him.   
Loved him as a friend, of course. He wasn’t a kid anymore to care about such ridiculous concepts as love.   
His hand twitched and he swiftly dug for another cigarette. 

‘This should do it’ Lupin popped the joints in his back when sitting up on his knees and stretching after fixing the damned thing Jigen referred to as “one fucked up trombone”.  
‘Now we just gotta listen really closely’ he sighed.   
He put the needle on the record and after initial scratching and static, old timey music filled the air.   
A grand string orchestra, it reminded Jigen of those awful movies from the fifties with the good-for-nothing female protagonists and awful personality-lacking men who shared a single scene with each other, only to kiss at the end to cathartic, over-the-top music. 

He tipped the ash off the end of his cigarette, but kept his gaze on Lupin, who was concentrating hard to find something. Nevertheless, Jigen himself had to admit that the tune was quite catchy, and he found himself tapping a finger on his belt buckle along to the softly joining trombones. 

‘Well shoot me if we figure out something from this’ Lupin looked puzzled ‘Maybe they hid some intact records with the inscribed ones?’  
‘I have no idea but then I’m gonna personally assist them to their graves…’ he picked out the cigarette from between his lips and sat up.  
‘Hey’  
‘Yeah?’  
‘Dance with me’ Lupin smiled, and Jigen felt a rush of rather uncomfortable cold followed by scorching hotness in his chest.   
‘What?’  
‘You heard me, dance with me!’  
‘Lupin we’re supposed to be working-‘  
‘Is that your only objection?’ he drew up an eyebrow and inched closer on the floor until Jigen mashed his hat in his face, masking his eyes again.  
‘Piss off man, I am not fucking fifteen anymore’  
‘Did you dance at fifteen?’ Lupin sounded genuinely surprised.  
‘Everyone danced at fifteen. You think you are unique if you turn around on the street while walking or if you stop by a street musician’  
‘Did you do these?’ Lupin placed his chin in his palm and sighed.  
‘No, I am bringing you fucking examples, geez, man’   
Lupin stood up and swept the luggage to the side with his feet. He grabbed the short coffee table and began dragging it to the side.  
‘What are you-‘  
‘Preparing the scene, you can’t dance in a cluttered room, can you?’  
‘I’m not dancing’  
‘Yes, you are’ he said, not teasingly, not forcibly, but calmly. For a minute, Jigen tipped up his rim out of curiosity, to see what kind of an expression could possibly pair up with such a tone. 

He wished he hadn’t. 

His heart began fluttering like a weak youngling’s and he became short of breath. He would have never thought he’d describe Lupin as “beautiful”. But there he was. He was quick to hide his eyes again, and thanks to his long bangs, Lupin perhaps wasn’t able to see the blush creeping onto his cheeks.

‘I know you’re hiding your embarrassment’ he purred and leaned closer, crouching in front of him ‘Dance with me, Daisuke’   
He used Daisuke as much as Jigen used Arséne in normal context. Never. 

This caught him off guard. It might have been the scotch, the adrenaline from the chase and the feeling of success that got Jigen to agree to dancing at last.  
He stood up and jerked his suit forward on himself so it would stand straight.   
‘You’re gonna pay an awful lot of money for this, Lupin’ he tucked away his cigarette, and took out his magnum from his belt, placing it on the coffee table.  
‘Not a big loss’ he smiled, holding out a hand.   
‘If Goemon comes home in the middle of all this I’m gonna have to get rid of both of you and you know it’  
‘Of course, of course, stop with the protesting, you giant baby’ he rolled his eyes with a smile.

‘One more thing’ Jigen pulled his mouth. Lupin dropped his hand to his side, laughing out to himself.   
‘Shoot it’  
‘I’m leading… If there is a dance, I am the one leading you’  
‘I can get behind that’ Lupin smirked, and Jigen took a step towards him. 

He was hesitant in touching him. Usually their touches consisted of shoving each other off the couch, dragging them to a safe place by the upper arm when injured or in danger, Lupin putting his hat back on his head, Jigen fixing Lupin’s messy tie. Nothing more, never more, and now he could touch him. How. He knew how, he knew exactly, but it felt extremely intimate out of a sudden.  
They were friends, right? So it wouldn’t be a big thing. Yeah, he should be sure about that.  
Jigen placed one hand on the small of his back, and searched for Lupin’s with the other. He held back his breath.   
Lupin had this shit-eating grin on his face which Jigen wanted to slap off. He knew he was thinking “I told you I can get you to dance”, and he hated it, he hated that he was right, and he despised how his heart was slowly betraying him, pumping faster to feeling the hand in his. He was aware Lupin could feel it. He could have easily pressed on Jigen’s pulse and figure out everything, or even worse, ask what was wrong with him, and the mere thought caused blood to pool in his face.  
He was awfully quick to blush, and it played a partial role in why he constantly insisted on wearing the hat, and never getting a decent goddamn haircut.

‘Hey, relax, deep breaths, how long has it been exactly?’ Lupin whispered, as he nudged his side, Jigen stepping front and leading him in slow movements.   
‘I don’t think I have ever danced for fun…’   
‘For fun? What did you do then, strip?’ the thief laughed and Jigen pinched his side with a smile, causing Lupin to jerk and laugh.  
‘Fuck off, Lupin’  
‘Really though, I am curious’  
‘I can’t remember. Every time we went to parties we were focused on the heist and not dancing, you know’  
‘So what was it about dancing at fifteen?’ he teased.  
‘It was just to emphasize how childish you are being right now’ he muttered.  
‘Yet you are leading beautifully, look at you’ he lowered his voice, and Jigen didn’t even realise how smoothly he has been dancing him around.  
His fingers twitched on Lupin’s hand, who smoothed into it, causing Jigen’s heart to skip a beat yet again.

This. This was why he hated dancing so much. It got him all sappy and emotional and dreamy. Something a gunman should never be. It made him hopeful and romantic, cradling emotions he would never act upon if he was sober. And he would have danced with anyone, really, it wasn’t just Lupin…   
He felt as if he lost control over himself if he danced. There were two kinds of dancing in his book, one with his magnum, when he was aiming and shooting flawlessly, and this, which snapped him out of reality and made him dream. And dreaming was bad, as far as he could comprehend. Nothing quite separated dreams from nightmares, as life wouldn’t change when he woke up, and he’d only commit idiotic nonsense while sleeping. He was calculated and precise when awake. Dreams and nightmares haunted everyone alike, planting seeds of sweet nothings in their minds, and Jigen knew he cannot let them grow roots, because the shorter the stem, the less the pain. If he let himself feel a genuine emotion for long, he’d get attached to it, and then they would leave. They always do.

Loving Lupin, Goemon and Fujiko as family has never stopped him from feeling like one day they are going to discard of him. And to spare himself pain, he kept it at the back of his mind at all times, not allowing anything else to nest in, not even the burning sensation of blood rush when he noticed that Lupin was gazing right into his eyes.  
Lupin quickly figured out his mind was wandering off, and he took his hand from Jigen’s shoulder, lifting off his hat and frisbeeing it over to the countertop smoothly.  
‘I want to see you’ he whispered, and with the same sweeping motion, he brushed Jigen’s bangs out of his forehead, to meet his emerald green eyes.   
Losing his defense and only mask, he stiffened for a second in surprise, but quickly eased into the rhythm again.   
He sent him smooth signals of when he wanted to change pace or direction, such as gently pressing on the side, nodding, brushing his hand with his thumb. It felt organic and natural to be dancing with Lupin like that, and he had no idea how or why. He just seemed to know what he wished to do, and for once he let him do it. He gave in and let himself be led and Jigen thought to himself it was definitely the decades of teamwork allowing them to be in such sync.

‘Hey’  
‘Hm?’  
‘You’re beautiful’ Lupin mouthed, and Jigen felt the weird tingling at his wrists again. Each time he was pleasantly caught off guard, each time he felt loved, it was there. A tingle strong enough to send vibrations to his stomach, and a signal to his heart which he tried to stop.   
He doesn’t love you.  
‘Oh cut it off’  
‘No, I mean it’ Lupin appeared so dazed, Jigen was caught off guard for a second.  
‘I hardly ever see your face. Your whole face. And you look so beautiful, it hurts. Physically’ he laughed ‘I wish I could see your eyes more often’  
‘Well shame, you’d have to clip my hair off and then you’d die’ he tried joking it away.  
‘What could I do to see your eyes more?’  
‘I dunno man, make a silicone facemask of me’  
‘Jigen’ he smiled.  
‘What now?’

He didn’t answer, just let the man keep leading him around. It happened so effortlessly, Jigen constantly wandered off in his mind and they still kept the rhythm, kept the steps. 

Fuck it.

Fuck it.

He drew him a little closer by the small of his back. A small change in starkness, he hoped Lupin wouldn’t notice it.   
It felt good. It felt so good, his chest against his, and he almost knew by heart where each one of his scars were. He has patched him up so many times, he has assisted by it and he has tucked him in bed injured way more than he could remember. And Lupin remembered his. It was a weird, but comforting feeling.   
‘We should do this more often’ Lupin muttered, sound barely coming from between his lips. His fingers clutched around Jigen’s, and for a heartbeat he separated their hands, only to gently fondle them together after.   
‘Oi, Lupin?...’  
‘Hm?’  
‘Shouldn’t we pay attention to the codes?’ he asked unwillingly, hating himself for it.  
‘What codes. If you ask me, I am unable to care about anything at the moment’ he leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on his jaw, just where it met his neck.   
Jigen inhaled sharply.

‘Crap, you mean the codes!!!’ Lupin sobered up, and jerked himself away from the man, whose arms lingered after him for a second, but he was quick to shove them in his pockets again.  
‘Crap crap crap, I completely forgot about those, thanks Jigen’ he clicked on the lights, and twisted the vinyl back to when the subtle beeping had started under the smooth voice of the singer.

Jigen kind of wished he hadn’t spoken. He still felt the warmth of his hands, his chest on his, and the light kiss. Has he gone mad to do such a thing? He was definitely out of his mind.

This is why he doesn’t dance.

**Author's Note:**

> Been debating whether I should even write this fanfic, but heck I have nothing to lose, so hope it was somewhat enjoyable!!! Stay lovely, you all.


End file.
